Hugo Munthe-Kaas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hugo Conrad Munthe-Kaas
Hugo Munthe-Kaas - Minnemarkering på Lapphaugen i april 1995 DF 5019
Born	(1922-02-03)3 February 1922 Norway
Died	19 March 2012(2012-03-19) (aged 90) Hovseter Hjemmet Oslo
Allegiance	Norway
Service/branch	Norwegian Army Royal Norwegian Navy
Years of service	1940–1983
Unit	6th Division Norwegian Armed Forces in exile Secret Intelligence Service Westminster Dragoons Norwegian Army Command Germany
Commands held	Garrison of Sør-Varanger
Battles/wars	Second World War Norwegian Campaign Battles of Narvik Normandy landings
Awards	Norwegian: War Cross with sword War Medal Defence Medal 1940–1945 with rosette Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal French: Chevalier of the Legion of Honour Croix de Guerre with bronze palm Médaille de la Reconnaissance for 1939-1945 British: Distinguished Service Medal War Medal 1939–1945 Defence Medal Atlantic Star United Nations: United Nations Service Medal for ONUC
Other work	Politician

Hugo Conrad Munthe-Kaas (born February 3, 1922 – died March 19, 2012) was a brave Norwegian secret agent and resistance fighter during World War II. He earned the most awards in Norway for his amazing work during the war. Later in life, he became active in politics, serving as a city council member in Oslo. He was also an honorary member of the Progress Party.

Hugo Munthe-Kaas was a key figure in Norway's fight against the German invasion during World War II. When he was just 18 years old, he fought against the German forces in 1940. After Norway was occupied, he went to England. There, he trained to become a secret agent for the British Intelligence Service.

In 1943, King Haakon VII gave the 21-year-old Munthe-Kaas the War Cross with Sword. This is Norway's highest medal for outstanding bravery in war. Great Britain also honored him with their Distinguished Service Medal (DSM). France gave him the Legion of Honor and the War Cross. These awards show how important his actions were.

Military Service: A Hero's Journey

Fighting in World War II

Hugo Munthe-Kaas came from a military family. His father and older brother were both officers. Before the war, Hugo volunteered for a guard company in Tromsø. He was there when Germany attacked Norway. Even though he was too young for the army, he joined the 16th Infantry Regiment.

During the fighting in Northern Norway, he worked as a messenger and a sniper in the Battles of Narvik. He served until Norway surrendered on June 10, 1940.

After the surrender, Hugo went back to school in Tromsø. In 1941, he joined the Norwegian resistance movement. He later moved to Trondheim for school. There, he continued his resistance work. He gathered secret information about the German U-boat base in the city. This information helped British planes bomb a major power station in 1942. In April 1942, he escaped to Britain on a fishing boat.

Secret Missions from the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Munthe-Kaas joined the Norwegian forces in exile. The British Secret Intelligence Service quickly recruited him for special missions in Norway. He learned how to be a radio operator and a commando soldier. Throughout the war, he went on many secret missions in occupied Norway. He traveled by both air and submarine.

The British needed more information from Norway. German warships, especially the battleship Tirpitz, were a big threat to supply ships going to the Soviet Union. It was important to set up a network of secret radio stations in Norway. These stations would send information about German ship movements to the UK. Munthe-Kaas helped create this network in July 1942. He was dropped off in Vesterålen by a Norwegian plane. He set up a radio station called LIBRA. He worked to organize the spy network that watched the Tirpitz.

After his first successful mission, Munthe-Kaas went to neutral Sweden and then back to Britain. In October 1942, he took part in another mission called Upsilon. In November, he helped bring soldiers and supplies to Senja by a French submarine. After this, he worked at the Norwegian Military Academy in London.

Later War Efforts

Munthe-Kaas returned to Norway in March 1943 on a mission called Upsilon III. This mission delivered more supplies. It also rescued four soldiers (two French and two Norwegian) who had been hiding in Norway since the previous mission. Rescuing these soldiers was a big achievement. It earned Munthe-Kaas awards from Norway, France, and the United Kingdom.

Because his secret missions were very risky, Munthe-Kaas was given a different role in 1943. He continued military training and became a tank commander in the Westminster Dragoons. However, he did not see active combat in this role.

In early 1944, Munthe-Kaas joined the Royal Norwegian Navy. He served on a motor torpedo boat, the MTB 627, in the English Channel. During the Normandy Landings in June 1944, his boat helped protect the invasion fleet from German attacks. He continued this service until September.

Then, he was sent on another mission to Norway called Elg. This mission prepared a base for combat. It was ready in case the Allies invaded Norway or if German forces decided to keep fighting. Munthe-Kaas was parachuted into Eastern Norway on November 26, 1944. He led an area called BA I until Germany surrendered. By the end of the war, Munthe-Kaas had become a lieutenant.

After the War

After the war ended in 1945, Munthe-Kaas left the military for a short time. He worked at a herring oil factory in Tromsø. But he soon returned to the army and held many important positions.

He served as an intelligence officer in Northern Norway. He also worked at the Norwegian embassy in London as an assistant military attaché. From 1950 to 1952, he was the main Norwegian military attaché in the United Kingdom. He even attended the funeral of King George VI of the United Kingdom in 1952.

Back in Norway, he led the Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger. He also worked as an assistant border commissioner. He served abroad several times, including with UN troops in Congo from 1963 to 1964. He later became the chief of the army's paratrooper school. He retired from the Armed Forces in 1983.

Awards and Honors

For his brave actions during the Upsilon III mission, Hugo Munthe-Kaas received the Norwegian War Cross with sword on July 2, 1943. This award was for his "particularly deserving effort in connection with secret military operations."

France honored him by making him a Knight of the Légion d'honneur. He also received the Croix de Guerre with bronze palm. In 1943, he was given the British Distinguished Service Medal by the First Sea Lord, John Cunningham. This was the highest British award for non-commissioned military personnel at the time.

For his service in World War II, Munthe-Kaas also received several other medals:

• British: War Medal, Defence Medal, and the Atlantic Star.
• Norwegian: War Medal, Defence Medal with rosette, and Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal.
• French: Médaille de la Reconnaissance for 1939–1945, given for the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

He also received a United Nations Medal for his work with UN troops in Congo.

In total, Munthe-Kaas received 17 military awards for his service during and after World War II. In 2008, he donated all his awards to the Military Academy in Oslo.

Political Career and Later Life

After his military career, Hugo Munthe-Kaas became active in politics. He joined the Progress Party in 1977. He served as a deputy chairman of the party from 1980 to 1982. He was also a deputy member of parliament for Akershus from 1981 to 1985. From 1984, he represented the Progress Party in the Oslo City Council. He was an honorary member of the Progress Party.

Hugo Munthe-Kaas passed away in 2012.

Books About Hugo Munthe-Kaas

• Christensen, Dag, Hemmelig agent i Norge. Den utrolige beretningen om Hugo Munthe-Kaas - i britisk spesialtjeneste mot tyskerne. Oslo, 1987.
• Scott, Astrid Karlsen, Silent Patriot: Norway's Most Highly Decorated WWII Soldier a Secret Agent. Nordic Adventures, Olympia, WA, 2004.